


Cupid's craddle

by oxylove



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Barista Huang Ren Jun, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Na Jaemin Are Best Friends, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan Is The Sun, Lee Jeno & Mark Lee Are Best Friends, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 21:04:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20712506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oxylove/pseuds/oxylove
Summary: "I can't believe you would leave me alone!"The same sentence sounded from opposite corners of the cafe as Renjun shut his ears and tried to focus on the coffee. Mark's pacing and Donghyuck's rambling making him more furious as the time passed by."THAT'S IT. SIT DOWN BOTH OF YOU" Renjun shrieks in his usually-calm-and-softer-than-silk voice .Mark and Donghyuck sat down two seats away from each other and grimaced towards the other.Their eyes widening as the harsh clunk of Renjun's tray sounded in the silence that surrounded them."You both are becoming friends right now or I'm making you both regret being born on the sad excuse of a dying planet inhabited by idiots who think with their dicks"A world where Huang Renjun is a climate enthusiast working in an eco friendly café and absolutely hates how Mark and Donghyuck can't tolerate each other even though their heads work almost the same way.Or a world where Mark and Donghyuck try to neglect their from-the-crib-to-the-grave kind of history together but their friends are not having it





	1. Turtles and Whales

**Author's Note:**

> So severe amounts of procrastination brought me here to this very wonderful idea that I had to execute or my body would physically hurt .

Mark had wandered into the Dream café that day just because his entire accountancy class was dying on the inside and the symester was near an end . 

It was Jeno's idea to go to the café and bring everyone coffee because "we have to be good humans, Mark . These people are our only hope at passing the exams"

In other words Lee Jeno, the Lee _oh-so-perfect_ Jeno was trying to bribe his classmates into tutoring him before the exams just so he could maintain his GPA. 

It was also Jeno's idea to do that at 9am when everyone living in the 5 mile radius of Dream Café knew Renjun was the crankiest. 

Oh wait, Mark forgot to introduce Renjun. The plight of being our very own protagonist is getting to him already. God forbid he forgets his own name later- let's not dive into that. 

So, Mark entered the café with as much quiet and stealth he could muster. His entire being shuddering as Renjun looked up with rimmed glasses perched on his nose and an artistic kind of beret on his head . The younger boy had his grip tightened on the latest copy of _Flora and Fauna: logistics ._

Mark cursed Jeno for being unlucky and bad at all things finance even though both of them had taken finance as their major. Mark did that because , _well _it pays well. And Jeno probably did because Jaemin finds finance majors hot. 

Renjun sighed for the fourth time since Mark entered the café as the elder approached him to order. 

"Lemme guess Jeno threw you here by winning rock-paper-scissors and this was all a part of his great scheme?" Renjun said nonchalantly. 

_Hold the fluff up_

"wait, how do you know?" Mark asked , wondering how exactly Renjun guessed every exact deta- 

"All the Iphone users made a gc without you because your android lifestyle was pissing everyone off. It was Jaemin's idea and Jeno followed like a puppy, Hyuck wanted to tease you somehow and Chenle had enough money with him to get Jisung a phone as well even though Jisung's mom doesn't believe in Jisung getting a phone before junior year"

Renjun ratted out as Mark tried to fathom the entire ordeal. The creaks of how that day's events set into the entire drama spewed together were evident. 

Mark hummed and looked down at his Samsung Galaxy S10 , he preferred android but in that moment he regreted ever doing that. 

"Why exactly though-" Mark started again and as soon as he began , the chime of the door rung into his ears. 

_"Na Jaemin I will skin you alive and make steaks better than Gordon Ramsey out of that fat ass . Why would you leave me alone at nine thirty in the morning to fetch you your poison drink-" _

In came with the sound of muffled curses, a very soft looking Donghyuck with the the cutest jacket Mark had seen in a long time. In also came with him, an auro of seething hatred that Mark had learnt to associate with the other's presence. Mark sighed , of course Jeno and Jaemin teamed up. 

5 months ago , Jeno and Jaemin discovered that they found Mark and Donghyuck compatible for reasons that God himself won't be able to justify. 

5 months ago was exactly the time that Jeno and Jaemin had started to try and pit Mark and Donghyuck together .

As if fate had decided, Mark's phone rang right at that moment and Mark looked at the screen to see Jeno's contact name on it. 

_God, Mark was going to skin him and make some kebabs that morning_

Mark groaned into the phone , "why exactly are Donghyuck and I here at the same time, you coconut dic-" 

Renjun cackled in displeasure , probably because Hyuck was getting louder in the background and Mark had to stop the tears of frustration from brimming up. 

Mark heard Jeno make a bullshit excuse that Mark wouldn't mention here, just because he has too much dignity and honor in his excuse making skills that Jeno's attempts seem an insult to the years of knowledge Mark had endowed upon him in that aspect. 

Mark does need to mention that the excuse was worse than "the dog ate my homework" .

"I can't believe you would leave me alone!"

The same sentence sounded from opposite corners of the cafe as Renjun shut his ears and tried to focus on the coffee. Mark's pacing and Donghyuck's rambling making him more furious as the time passed by.

"THAT'S IT. SIT DOWN BOTH OF YOU" Renjun shrieks in his usually-calm-and-softer-than-silk voice .

Mark and Donghyuck sat down two seats away from each other and grimaced towards the other.  
Their eyes widening as the harsh clunk of Renjun's tray sounded in the silence that surrounded them.

"You both are becoming friends right now or I'm making you both regret being born on the sad excuse of a dying planet inhabited by idiots who think with their dicks"

"Yessir" Donghyuck said and made a kissy face at Mark in all his sarcastic glory . Mark had to stop himself from stabbing the boy there and there with one of those near useless polymer straws that Renjun advocated religiously. 

Something about the whales and turtles, if Mark remembers right. 

Mark rolled his eyes and pleaded to Renjun. 

"Can't you just give us our orders and we'll get the heck out of your face?" 

"As tempting as that sounds, no you can't Mark hyung. You and Lee _sunshine _Donghyuck need to sought it out right infront of my eyes or I will rip your heads off" 

Mark had never felt that attacked before.


	2. Chaos ensues in the silence of dickheads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck met Mark in conditions that were oh-so-shippable . 
> 
> But Donghyuck doesn't like Mark for many reasons. His inability to think clearly is one of them.
> 
> That's what got them here in the first place. And now, they had Huang Renjun standing on their heads and Donghyuck's music teacher Kim Doyoung probably madder than a raging Mount Vesuvius.
> 
> A peak into the possible debris of emotions Mark and Hyuck have burried .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (laughs into the melodramatic silence)

Donghyuck didn't want anything than to escape from that situation .His class had started and yet he was _here _ besides Mark who smelt like fresh laundary and waffles. The same Mark he had been successfully avoiding for months now. 

He gave himself a mental pat on the back for that achievement and ran his eyes over Renjun who had crossed his arms and was tapping his foot on the floor impatiently looking almost petite in an elfish kind of way. It reminded Donghyuck of the time Renjun played Peter Pan in the elementary school play and Donghyuck was Tinkerbell because his elementary school teacher thought giving his mother future blackmail material of him in tutus and dresses was just the right choice. To think about it , his twin Dongsoon (younger to him by 3 whole minutes, which confirms his supremacy) could have been Tinkerbell but his Mom must have joint forces with his elementary teacher Beyonce, both of them were genuises in evil deeds and torturing 6 year old boys.

"So?" Renjun exclaimed in exasperation, never quite the patient Peter Pan who could remain in the same age group forever. 

"So what?" Donghyuck heard Mark say amd look at both of them in confusion. Donghyuck would have slapped him silly if he wasn't quite frozen in his place. 

Oh god , please _not _Renjun therapy. 

"Hug it the fuck out or I am banning you from ever entering this café again." 

To think about it further, Donghyuck could always come here when the other girl, Yeri, was on duty but it sounded scary especially because Yeri's sister Joy was a breathing volcano of scary sfuff compiled together. 

Like his profesor, Doyoung but on steroids. 

That brought back to his mind the fact that his first period was going on and he would get punished if he didn't reach there in exactly 8 minutes. 

And in that sheer panic , Donghyuck hugged Mark the same way they used to hug when they were kids and still _Markiepoo _and _Duckie_. 

Thats the problem isn't it? They weren't Markiepoo or Duckie anymore.

And just like that, he had hugged Mark on the command of Renjun and split away like his entire body had caught fire. 

Donghyuck would have explained that its because he hated Mark with all that resides in him but a part of him knew that the first thing that rung through his head was how _sweet and delcious and warm_ Mark was. How _right _it felt to be in his arms again and thats when Donghyuck shrinked away from those memories that were willing to clower into his system. 

"Mark....Renjun kept your order on the counter besides the pies, take it and leave please" Donghyuck whispered softly, the condescending tone they used with each other was back and it made Mark want to claw out the darkness that resided in their bond.

"t-tell Jaemin I said hi" Mark murmured as he detangled himself from Donghyuck and raised his eyes to look around , probably searching for Renjun who decided it was just the right time to run away from the scene of crime. 

Donghyuck's knees buckled and he was down on the floor that instant , sobs shaking through him as he furiously rubbed at his eyes.

God, he missed Mark so _much._

* * *

* * *

Mark entered the class with 25 cups of coffee and a grande strawberry latte for his professor. Man , he loved that guy so much for being so patien- 

"Mark Lee, you are late you don't get to enter my class" he heard Qian '_I usually am a super nice and brotherly professor'_ Kun. 

Of course Jeno made Mark mess up on the day when Professor Kun was the crankiest. 

"But sir I brought you strawberry-" 

"Out. Of. My. Class , Lee" Kun emphasized and Mark was pretty sure his eyes must have been as wide as saucers. 

Kun never punished Mark. Mark was his favorite student in this class. 

"Sir but-"

* * *

* * *

Mark found himself in the lounge of the staffroom that afternoon, serving one of the worst detentions in history. 

Reading how students bullshitted their papers. They went to the extent of repeating the same thing in different language or making the text white and typing invisible shit just so that they could fool Kun. 

Mark was pretty sure their project reports had a -5 on top to begin with. 

With a sigh from his lips he leaned back into the chair and thought about Donghyuck and everything that went down in the café. He thought about Donghyuck and him in a friendly way , just like they used to be. He thought about doing something to get Jeno and Jaemin together 

Just at that moment the doors barged open and in came Donghyuck, pancing around with the cutest, most adorable stride ever. 

Mark seemed to blend into the walls as he called out , his brightness lighting the whole room up and making everything slightly―just slightly― more breathtaking than Mark would have admitted. 

_"Taeil hyungggggg"_ his voice rung through Mark's ears with its gentle clinginess and Mark was surprised at how easy it was for the other to do this. 

To make him feel like this. 

this....this.... ugly and unwanted. 

As if on cue, Professor Moon― Taeil― came in and grinned at Hyuck , giving him a number of headpats that Mark shouldn't have had his eyes on. 

8 pats.

Eight whole head pats which made Hyuck rub against his hand and nuzzle it . Hyuck purred at the affection.

_purred._

That was enough. Mark stood up in a haste and picked his papers and laptop up. He tried to ignore the eyes on him as he clenched his teeth and stormed out of that suffocating room. 

Kun would understand. Kun had to get his reason for leaving. Kun would understand that Mark........

All the dark feelings that he did the best to hide under his belt , everytime Jaemin pressed his lips to Donghyuck's temple or Donghyuck hugged Jeno or Donghyuck and Renjun playfought. 

All of that bursted inside him. He was angry . So so angry that the floor shook alongside his knees as his hands quivered in the discomfort of how _good _ Donghyuck and Taeil looked together. 

no he can't. .. 

He can't be like this....

He hates Donghyuck. He hates Donghyuck's honey voice and soft curls and he hates how pouty and cuddly sleepy Hyuck gets. He hates how warm and homely Hyuck feels and he hates Donghyuck because he looks so perfect doing such little things.... and .....and ..

He misses Donghyuck.

He misses _Duckie._

* * *

* * *

"You know you should talk to Mark right, Hyuck?" 

"Why? And for what?" 

"Mark Lee isn't sensitive and shaken up by little things Donghyuck , you know that better than all of us combined" 

"Yeah yeah Lee Jeno, don't lecture me over a damn phonecall or I will make sure you regret taking music as a minor" 

"W-Wait you can't-" 

"I could always talk to Doyoung hyungie , you know he is mad at you for leaving the microwave on the entire day yesterday" 

"Shut it, Hyuck" _pause _"please bring back my asshat crackboy Mark, Hyuck. He isn't replying to my texts this is weird" 

"It will all be okay, Jeno. Just sleep for tonight alright" 

* * *

* * *


End file.
